South Korea sending first container ship through Arctic route

More vessels are testing the route, but experts doubt its commercial potential

The Middle East conflict, sparked by US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February, has roiled global shipping, sending governments and shipping firms scrambling to seek alternative routes.

Sailing from Busan New Port, the container ship — the 'PanStar Acro' — will sail to Europe via the Arctic, testing whether a route opened by melting sea ice can be commercially viable.

The PanStar Acro will sail north, hugging eastern Russia's Kamchatka peninsula, cross the Bering Sea, and take the Northern Sea Route, stopping in Felixstowe in Britain, Rotterdam in the Netherlands and Poland's Gdansk before returning on a journey expected to take 40 to 45 days.